On the Road Again

Monday began with a relaxed breakfast. Mimi reviewed the map and plotted a scenic route that kept us off of major highways. We said our goodbyes and left Saint Gaudens for our next adventure. 

Mimi had carefully written down every road number for our trip, but as we approached Toulouse she realized her road list was missing. We had the map and my tiny magnifying glass. Going back was not an option.

We found a place to get gas for the car right next to a field of planted wild flowers. The next problem would be finding a bathroom. We pulled off into an “aire” and Mimi went to check out the facilities. I could tell from her body language that I was going to skip this location! We stayed long enough to eat a banana and yogurt…food left over from our Friday trip south.

I took a picture of this blueberry bush. Mimi had brought similar blueberries home from a walk in Blanot. They look like blueberries, but they have a pit! If you try eating one, your mouth reacts by getting puffy and they definitely are not sweet! 

As we approached Albi, we could see the famous brick church on a hill in the distance. We paused in our homeward trek to find it, following signs for an historic church. Instead, we ended up at Saint Michel’s. 

I was surprised by the number of small mausoleums as opposed to flat stones. Several grave sites looked more like tiny greenhouses than cemetery resting places.

We wandered around the church yard for a bit, decided we had seen enough churches that weekend, and returned to the  homeward route. On our way out of town we passed these pink umbrellas…

We drove by this cool sculpture flanked by an autumn tree, but I don’t have a clue as to the significance of the short “goal” posts and flags.

Here’s an aqueduct conveniently placed where I could pull the car to the side of the road and take a picture.

Mimi was taking a picture of a river while I was staying with the car. Looking around I spotted this house in the trees. I was intrigued by the slope of the roof. It seemed like a perfect setting for a children’s story, especially with this round stone structure near by.

 

Further on we saw rock formations jutting out of the hillside. Mother Nature has a sense of humor…these were certainly phallic symbols.

And another church. I think this might have been in the town we almost didn’t get out of because of road work. Arrows sent us up a hill, but there weren’t any other signs. We wandered around and ended up looking down at the same impassable rond-pont, or rotary. Up the hill we went again. Finally Mimi took the map, jumped out of the car, and stopped a man to ask for directions. He seemed to be sending us right back up that hill again, wandering streets we had already seen, and heading back down to the same rond-pont…only this time the workers had moved out of the way and we zipped through. 

As we drove through large and small towns we realized that bakeries and cafes are closed on Mondays! In one town I happened to turn into a side street, decided it wasn’t going to help me find a cafe, pulled into a parking lot to turn around, and standing there to accept a delivery was a waitress who spoke English! Talk about luck! 

It was a hotel and restaurant and we were more than welcome to use the bathroom. Would we like an apple tart with vanilla ice cream along with our coffee?

Gas in the car, food and a bathroom. Couldn’t ask for more! And then we were on our way again. 

Some hours later, in the dusk of evening we needed a place to have dinner and spend the night. I pulled into a McDonald’s, not to eat, but because they generally have decent bathrooms, and we kept going. As darkness descended I wondered if maybe we should have eaten at the McDonalds. Nothing seemed to be open and if we did see a light it was long after we had passed the exit. I was preparing to drive through the night or sleep in the car when Mimi spotted a large, well lit hotel/restaurant and figured out how to reach it. We had a great meal and a nice room with a private bath. Oh so glad we didn’t eat at McDonalds!

Midmorning of the next day we found a boulangerie-patisserie, a bakery, that also made sandwiches and had beverages. That took care of brunch. Further on we spotted a quaint town and actually were able to find a place to pull over for a picture. 

Then we noticed a chateau with parking nearby. 

It took a few minutes before I realized I had been there many years ago, the first time I had stayed with the Godons. Francis had brought me. There was also a famous chocolateer in town. We didn’t try to find him this time, but we did take pictures of the chateau and its moat.

 

Now I know the name of the town and that it isn’t very far from Blanot. Shortly after this we were home...